User blog:Chris Rehm/Key West Music!!!
A Caldron of Creativity One of the great things about Key West, is its extremely vibrant music scene. That also goes for all of the arts in general, as well as writers. Fact is, Key West is, what I label as, “ A Caldron of Creativity”. I’m certain that throughout the world there are energies that emit from the earth, or within it’s atmosphere, which inspire artists and writers, albeit, some places more than others. New York is certainly one, likewise Los Angeles! No one could dream of leaving out Nashville. The big difference between say, New York and Key West, is that greater New York feeds something like twenty million people, so the pickings can get a bit thin at times. Key West however, feeds about twenty five thousand. As both a writer of both songs and an up-coming book, I feel this energy every day. As music is the subject matter of this blog, I’ll stick to that as the reference, however, please keep in mind, it likewise is there for all others with creative, new ideas, regardless of the idiom in which they are focused. If we look at musicians, all one has to do is walk into virtually any bar, some on any given day, others the weekend, and see all that is to be had. The abundance of talent is amazing. Travel up the road one hundred and sixty miles to Maimi and try to find live music. You need to dig out the local free rag, find what’s happening and where, then hop in the car and drive. Here, you go one door to the next, all on foot. The musicians are all creating here. Guitarists such as Caffine Carl, Robert Douglas, Carl Peachy, Din Allen, or Larry Baeder may play the same song every day, and although the solo is based off of a theme, it’s different every day. This is creativity. This is the inspiration. This is the art being made right in front of us as we sit there and listen. Go listen to Barry Cuda have a go and any one of his Blues orientated songs that he does. The same exact thing here, only on a piano. Listen to how Din Allen completely changes an arrangement of a song. The Neville Brother’s song “Yellow Moon” comes to mind. This is the art. Songwriters are likewise inspired by their surroundings and the creative energy. Mike McCloud is a prime example. He’s a great writer and is I think it’s safe to say that most of his writing is based on personal experiences here in Key West. Jimmy Buffett, like McCloud, has been inspired and wrote much of his catalog, right here in Key West. As a songwriter myself, often when I’m writing here in Key West, I’m often overwhelmed with the creative energy we have here. I’ll get on a roll and I’m in the middle of one project, when suddenly another comes from out of nowhere, muscles it’s way into the first project, pushing it out of the way! I’m tempted to say “Bad Dog!!!” to the second for shoving it’s way in, like an impatient grade school student, however, when the spirit and energy of creativity hit you, you never turn it away. And, that’s exactly the best analogy for it. Because here, there is so much creative energy that abounds, it’s all just trying to force its way to the surface through all the various artists and writers that live on this small island. It really is “A Caldron of Creativity” Chris Rehm Category:Blog posts